Probe begins over radar shipment
Customs to check unauthorised release
PETALING JAYA: The Customs Department has started an investigation into an “unauthorised release” that could have caused the initial assumption that a shipping container of high-tech military equipment had gone missing.
It is now confirmed that the cargo had safely reached its destination at Rotterdam Port in the Netherlands, said Customs director-general Datuk T. Subromaniam.
He did not deny the possibility that there could have been certain parties who, without the knowledge of the Customs Department, “gave permission” to bring the high-tech military radar equipment into the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) area in Johor Baru.
“That is where the internal investigation is going on. It shows that someone from the port authorised the release,” said Subromaniam.
The Customs chief declined to go into details because the investigation was not yet completed.
Meanwhile, Johor Port Authority general manager Muhammad Razif Ahmad confirmed that the container with the high-tech radar system was loaded on the Emma Maersk on June 3, which then went to Rotterdam Port.
“It should also be noted that throughout the period when the container was in transhipment at PTP, the port authorities had cooperated with other government agencies, in particular the Customs Department, which is also looking into its standard operating procedures when releasing goods under the Strategic Trade Act 2010,” he said in a statement.
The Star had reported that the container of equipment had gone missing after it was detained at PTP.
It was reported that Customs Department officers detained the container, which was being shipped from Australia to the Netherlands because it did not have the proper permit, under the Strategic Trade Act 2010.
The permit is usually issued by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
It is learnt that during a recent audit check, the classified equipment could not be located at the port and a police report was then lodged by the Customs Department over the suspected unauthorised approval.
The authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the consignment could have been loaded onto another vessel and shipped to the Netherlands discreetly to avoid further problems.
In Johor Baru, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin urged the police and Customs Department to get to the bottom of the case.
“The authorities need to provide us with answers on what happened. Did the consignment really go missing or was it misplaced? Or was this an inside job?”
Khaled said it is Johor’s aspiration to promote all three ports in the state to be gateways into the country while helping Malaysia to become a regional logistics hub.